Casey steers $1M in federal funds to antisemitism fight at Tree of Life synagogue

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey announced Friday that the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill will receive $1 million in federal funding to help combat antisemitism through education.

“I’m just so grateful that Tree of Life has embarked on this ambitious and noble project,” Casey said during a press conference at the synagogue, where a gunman killed 11 congregants in 2018. “This place will be the place where the dark, cold evil of hate and antisemitism will be confronted by the warm, bright light of education.”

The funding, which comes during a time of increasing antisemitism nationally and locally, will help support antisemitism educational programming at the K-12 level, according to Casey.

“Future generations will change the conversation about antisemitism and will do their part to uproot it completely from our world,” Casey said of the Tree of Life community.

Carole Zawatsky, CEO of Tree of Life, said the funding will enable the synagogue to develop an antisemitism curriculum and deliver it to schools across the country through partnerships with school districts.

Casey said the $1 million will pay for staff to build the curriculum and technology to deliver it.

“This is a broad-based educational program, and I think it forms the foundation of our efforts to combat antisemitism,” said Casey, D-Scranton.

‘This community has come together’

On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman entered the Tree of Life synagogue and killed 11 Jewish worshippers during a service.

Killed in the synagogue attack were Rose Mallinger, 97; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 86; brothers David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59; Dan Stein, 71; Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Joyce Fienberg, 75; Melvin Wax, 87; Irving Younger, 69; and Richard Gottfried, 65.

They were members of the Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light congregations, all housed in the same building.

“I’m grateful that out of that dark tragedy … that this community has come together to do all that it can to make sure that we never ever have a day like that,” Casey said.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life congregation said that students will learn about the history of antisemitism as well as the attitudes that led to the Holocaust and the Tree of Life shooting.

“While the image of America as a melting pot or a tapestry is beautiful, it is not accurate at this time,” Myers said. “It is through education that we can make a difference … attitudes can be transformed to develop a respect and appreciation for all people — regardless of color, religion or sexual orientation.”

Myers said Casey’s support enables Tree of Life to “dream big.”

“We are poised to do the necessary work to eliminate antisemitism with the vision that it can be eliminated and respect for all people can be firmly established,” he said.

Michael Bernstein, chair of the Tree of Life board of directors, said the site of what was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history will be turned into a symbol of hope.

“In the United States, antisemitism is especially insidious,” he said. “It is independent of political ideology and often woven into how people view the world.”

Bernstein said this is a time of heightened antisemitism.

“From college campuses and town halls to rural communities and urban centers, people are experiencing antisemitism in ways we never have before,” he said. “Antisemitism is a force that destroys lives.”

A bill to combat antisemitism on college campuses passed the House, and it is awaiting a Senate vote. Casey tried to call for unanimous consent in the Senate, which means the bill would’ve passed without a floor vote, but there were objections on both sides of the aisle.

The bipartisan legislation was introduced in the wake of Oct. 7, when Hamas stormed Israel, killing and injuring thousands of civilians, seizing hostages and triggering war in Palestine’s Gaza Strip. The Israeli military has waged a relentless campaign in Gaza, killing 34,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to local officials.

“I don’t think there’s any question that the impetus of the rise after Oct. 7 of last year was directly connected to the terrorist invasion by Hamas,” he said.

Rising incident of antisemitism

Incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise locally and nationally for at least eight years, statistics show.

In 2022, there were more than 3,500 antisemitic incidents in the U.S., a 36% increase over 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League. And, in 2023, there were at least 1,112 incidents of antisemitic propaganda, up from 852 a year earlier.

The number of post-Oct. 7 antisemitic incidents on college campuses hit 1,605 as of Thursday, according to Hillel International. That’s seven times higher than the same period a year earlier.

In March, Pittsburgh police increased patrols in Squirrel Hill after vandals defaced at least 10 “We Stand With Israel” yard signs with images of bloody handprints.

Shawn Brokos, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said there has been an uptick of antisemitism in the greater Pittsburgh area.

As of Friday, the federation has logged 128 incidents of antisemitism, and last year by the same time, the federation had tallied 44, according to Brokos.

Last year in total, the federation logged exactly 300 incidents, she said, and 106 of those happened after Oct. 7.

Brokos agreed with the need for awareness and education, and she believes the $1 million in federal funds couldn’t have come at a better time.

“I think this funding is essential in bringing awareness to antisemitism in general — now so more than ever because we continue to see an escalation in this area, an escalation in this ideology,” Brokos said.

Alongside the planned museum and education center, which were previously announced, Bernstein said the space will house the Tree of life Institute for Countering Hate and Antisemitism, which will serve as “a bridge between diverse communities” and an official 10/27 memorial.

It will also house the Tree of Life Center for Jewish Life and Culture, he said.

The new, 45,000-square-foot Tree of Life building will be designed by renowned Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind.

Libeskind, who is Jewish and the son of Holocaust survivors, designed the Jewish Museum Berlin in Germany. Stateside, he played a role in developing the New York City skyscraper once known as Freedom Tower, which replaced the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“Our hope is that students develop an understanding of how Jewish Americans experience antisemitism and an ability to recognize and call out hate and antisemitism in daily life,” Bernstein said.